Week of Killington, Vermont
July 3, 2001

We drove 14 hours from Grand Rapids to Killington, Vermont through Canada, and took the time to stop at Niagara Falls to ride the 'Maid of the Mist' on our way. It was an enjoyable stop, and one that my family had made many times early in my life at ages 3-6 while living in Erie, PA. It was about 90 degrees, but while going under the Horseshoe Falls, the temperature dropped, there was no sun, and we were under it for so long, I thought we were trapped! We were glad to have small plastic raincoats, but our feet were sopping wet!

Killington is one of the prettiest places we see in our travels. Since I do not ski, I cannot quite appreciate the 11 feet of snow they got in March alone! That's great for skiing, but not so great for getting grass to grow on a golf course. It is now nearly July, and the course's first nine still has weather damage. Due to the condition of the fairways, we had the lift, clean, and place rule take effect for the week, enabling us to get a fair lie from some poor situations in our own fairway.

Early in the week, Val and I both played the Green Mountain National course. Val had not played for about 6 weeks since we left Florida, and she goes out and pars the first 2 holes easily! She played great, and birdied the scenic downhill par 3 #4 from 6 feet! It was a nice 'vacation' round. We joined three Futures Tour players on the last hole, and they watched Val tee off and get up and down from the bunker to a tough pin. They wondered why she was caddying and not competing! She impressed them for sure.

We stayed this year in the North Star Lodge, recently renovated and right on the Killington access road, convenient to the restaurants and to the course. Last week in Grand Rapids, we had to drive 50 miles to the pro-am dinner in Saugatuck at the Hilltop Golf Center. This week, the pro-am party was just off our hotel parking lot at the Summit Lodge - we walked there, only ½ block! Very convenient!

For the third year in a row, I was invited to play with the team hosted by the Long Trail Beer group. The host Andy Reid could not attend this year, but his substitute Jason Evans joined my last year's partners: Patrick Thorsell, Mike McGuil, and Ronnie Bellinger. It was a scramble format, and our first nine holes go into the record books as the best nine I have ever seen. I helped on #1 as I made the 15-footer for birdie, and then my team all contributed some spectacular shots and continued making birdies and an eagle on #6. We made the final birdie on #9, and counted up our total -- 25. We had 10-under-par on a par 35 - never before have I been involved in having more under par than the number of holes we had played! We did finish at -14, and although this was pretty great, we did not win the net event with our team handicap. We will always have bragging rights on that nine though, and every person had highlights - great putts, wonderful approaches, and we just impressed ourselves and each other!

My first round 8:20 tee time came very quickly, as I had just gotten off of the course only 12 hours earlier. It was another steady round where I had three birdies and one bogey to finish with my 4th straight 70. Making birdie on the last hole always feels very good. It rained on and off most of the first nine, and of course after we finished, the weather was quite good.

Day two I was in the 2nd to last group, teeing off at 1:40. I had pars on the first three holes and we teed off on #4 hearing some thunder quite close. Our rules officials blew the horns, and told us we probably would not have to wait long, the storm would blow through in about ½ hour, so if we just wanted to wait in the shelter it should not be long. So the last few groups, caddies and spectators waited about 20 minutes, and it kept getting darker. We were also on the highest point on the course, and apparently the storm was joining another one and was coming pretty quickly. Our rules person came over and said: "Get in a cart, and get to the clubhouse, now!!" So off we went, and as soon as we got into the clubhouse, the skies opened up! We watched as the rains poured down, the sky became a dark gray, and the lightning was everywhere. We were very glad we were not still in the shelter! Safely inside, we waited for 3 hours, and were ready to go back out and finish. Our tournament director announced that as much work as the staff did to get the course in playing shape, it was not possible, and the round would be continued on Sunday morning at 7:30. What a change of plans!

Sunday morning came very quickly, and we resumed play at 7:30. I chipped to 2 feet and made my putt for par, and we continued as if no time had passed. In about ½ hour the drizzle came again, but soon stopped, and the rainsuits were removed once again. My day had many pars, and I bogeyed the par 4 #13. But the very next hole, the 155 yard par-3 was an exciting one for our group. Jeanne-Marie Bussitil hit to 2 feet left of the pin. Melinda Daniels-Price followed and hit hers to 2 feet short of the pin. So now it is my turn, and I do not think I have much room for my ball! But I hit mine to 3 feet left of the pin, and it was quite a sight seeing our 3 balls right around the hole! I putted first, made my birdie, and they both tapped in too! So I was back to even for the day. Although I made pars in the last 4 holes, the highlight was on #16 where I two-putted on the par 3 from 75 feet up and over a ridge, and down to the hole. We did hear thunder on #17, and played #18 in a drizzle again. As soon as Val put the pin in on #18, a flash of lightning appeared pretty close, and it started raining very hard. The final group was still on the course with one hole to finish. We signed our scorecards safely inside, and it was as dark and rainy and full of lightning as the day before. Within ½ hour, our staff decided to shorten the event to 36 holes, and when the weather broke, the last group of 3 would finish the event to determine the winner. A very strange day, but my 70-72 finish ended up in a 3-way tie for 5th, and my best finish this year. The course just could not take any more water, and now we had the afternoon off!

Just as we finished our round, Beth and Dave Salzman arrived from New Hampshire to watch the final (now cancelled) round. They did not even get to watch me play one hole. It was nice of them to come as they did in 2000 for two rounds. We went to lunch at Ppeppers, one of our favorite stops in Killington, and Salzmans invited us to come to New Hampshire for the night. We had not seen their new home in Bedford, so we checked out early from the North Star, made our annual stop at the Long Trail Brewery (just to buy, not to drink), and drove the 120 miles to Bedford. Beth and Dave are such nice friends from University Park in Sarasota, and it is a pleasure to see them again while in the Northeast.

We arrived in the Albany area on Monday evening, and will look forward to seeing the course again where I finished runner-up in 2000. Here's to better weather, and a good 4th of July to you all.

Sue E.

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